First-pass contrast-enhanced myocardial perfusion using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is a valuable method to access patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) providing important diagnostic and prognostic information. However, many clinically available techniques have limited spatial-temporal resolution and ventricular coverage. Recent advances in parallel imaging and compressed sensing have improved the spatial coverage while maintaining spatial-temporal resolution. Some non-Cartesian techniques using radial or spiral techniques have demonstrated good image quality with minimal dark rim artifacts, and have demonstrated accurate detection of CAD in preliminary studies. Over the last few years, there has been increased interest in obtaining full heart coverage using 3D imaging techniques, and multi-center trials have demonstrated diagnostic utility. However, 3D perfusion techniques have limited temporal and spatial resolution. A way to achieve whole-heart coverage is to obtain multiple slices at the same time using simultaneous multi-slice imaging techniques (SMS). SMS has found significant applications in neurological MRI, and has recently been used for cardiac applications. To date, there has been limited application of SMS for spiral trajectories.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the various aspects of the present disclosure as described below are presented.